As known, payment cards are electronic cards, spread all over the world, that allow purchases of goods and services. In particular, the payment cards are equipped with a device for the recognition of identification data of the owner and issuing bank, able to connect with an interface device, such as a POS (Point of Sale), to make a payment, or with an Automatic ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) for drawing out cash or carrying out another operation.
In particular payment cards are cards made of plastic material and incorporating a microchip in which the data concerning the card owner are securely stored. These payment cards are called Smart Card. Information stored in the microchip allow to make money transaction. With an increased memory capacity and the internal microprocessor, smart cards can be used to perform multiple services, in fact, a greater number of data can be stored on the same card. The microchip has supplanted the magnetic stripe, previously used for this type of cards.
Cards with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology associated with respective RFID readers are also known, even those assigned for different functions.
A real need of the users is to check important information in real-time about the use of the card and about the transaction one is performing by using the card itself, such as information about available credit, transaction history, etc. To do this payment cards have been implemented that include a display and an interface keyboard, through which the user can access the functions of the card itself, such as described in US patent application n. US 2012/0024945.
A further need arose from the use of payment cards is that they can be connected directly to a Computer, Laptop Computer, Smartphone, mobile phone, PDA or other device through a connection interface. US 2009/037275 describes a payment card that implements an USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. Another example of this type is provided in US 2011/147452.
The document US 2009/112761 describes a card equipped with an USB port for connecting to a PC. The card allows the user to identify himself in the banking system, in order to subtract or deposit money.
The described solutions do not permit a direct data exchange from a credit card directly to another credit card if not through a connection to a remote controlling server, generally the server of the bank that issued the two cards, the latter having still to be traceable to the same checking account.
This function is particularly useful when, for example, it is necessary to accredit or directly reload a payment card through another payment card without going through a specific request, for example, by an interface page with a central server of the bank issuing the card.
Today there is the need to have a direct connection between the two payment cards in addition or alternatively to the connection with the remote server of the Institution managing at least one of the cards.